Few players are as synonymous with a Major League Baseball greatness as Paul Molitor. The Minnesota Twins know this as well as anyone. For him to be hired as a coach for the Twins seems as natural as breathing. Of course they would want him as a coach. Who wouldn’t? For the Twins this time around might be a little different however. If you follow a rumor or two and risk an assumption or two, it becomes a clear possibility that this time they really are grooming Molitor to be Ron Gardenhire’s successor at manager.

The buzz about the way Molitor thinks about the game has always been there. He sees things others do not see and watches a game in a different way, many have said. Those people are right and assuming those points will make a good future MLB manager, there seems to be no reason to think Molitor wouldn’t be able to do every bit as good a job as Gardenhire does, with a little on the job training.

Molitor has coached with a couple of teams, including one stint coaching with the Twins for a brief time. The time has never been as right as it is now. Gardenhire had to wait to find out if he was returning, or at least all of us did. When he was announced as returning it was only for a two-year deal.

The same offseason includes Molitor being added once again as a coach of bunting and a few other things. One might assume that he will assist Gardenhire in a few areas. The end result two years from now could easily be that Molitor is to be ready to manage the team by then. If so, it would be as easy of a transition away from Gardenhire as anyone could imagine.